


Unrigging A Heart Sealed To Chains Of Fate

by XxMidnightMasqueradexX



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Changing fates, Character Death, Comedy, Defacto Leader Morgana, Familial Bonds, Fanon Continuation, Feels, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, New awakenings, One Epic Bromance But Drop The B Already, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Ren Amamiya is the big gay, RenxRyuji centric, Ryuji Sakamoto is a disaster bisexual, Sacrifice, Semi One-sided Yuuki Mishima and Ryuji Sakamoto, friendship bonds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:20:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22310947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxMidnightMasqueradexX/pseuds/XxMidnightMasqueradexX
Summary: As The New Treasure Of Mementos, Slumbering in Its Depths He AwaitsHis Heart Sealed, By Chains Of FateThe Wild Card, Savior Of HumanityA Prison Where He Is Both Prisoner and Warden, Welcome One And All To His Velvet Palace.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 20
Kudos: 86





	1. The Tale Of The Wild Card

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello one and all! My friend Bea and I are here once again to take you all on another one of our wild rides! So buckle in and get set! Because here we go! This new fic of ours is like a alternative end to Persona 5, because I - Midnight- have finally played through it all! If you cannot tell we're taking a card out of Persona 3's deck and playing it here! This fic will be an alternate end to P5 and also a continuation of sorts. So get yourselves ready! Because we won't hold back!

* * *

* * *

* * *

  
Once upon a time 

Score a year ago, on Christmas eve, a miracle happened that said night 

Listen to this tale in the form of this rhyme 

Humanity came to face its greatest plight 

The Phantom Thieves arose like a beckon of light 

Standing united against the false God upon Christmas Eve 

With the hope of humanity behind them, victory was the only end in their sight 

From heaven a fallen angel descended, because of those who believe   


  
In The ones called the Phantom Thieves 

The False God hadn’t seen the wishes of the people changing 

It was one last surprise it could not perceive 

Wishes that were once for chains had started rearranging 

The God stared into the Barrel of Justice 

And from within fired a shell of judgment for the sin of his falsehood 

This divine punishment, could only be called retribution for his sins of corruption, falsity, and injustice 

On The Joker’s command to Pillage him, The Demon Lord Satanael, secured the future for good. 

That fateful eve, however, The Phantom Thieves suffered their greatest loss, as the False God fell. 

To ensure that the False God shall never rise again a sacrifice was awaiting at the end of their path. 

The life of Humanity’s savior was reaped to create a seal, a tale of tragedy, this rhyme had to tell. 

And as he faded away into the light, snow fell down upon them all, in the aftermath. 

Yet on the anniversary of his passing, a most curious event occurs, The Magician Card’s wish is granted 

From cat to human he awakens, with The Phantom Thieves behind him, a new tale they shall spin 

By their will, and the wills of their confidants, the fate of their Leader should be recanted. 

Reclaiming their masks, and with those gaining them for the first time, A brand new journey will begin 

With The Hearts Of Humanity regaining hope, they shall break the chains, and rewrite the game 

Healing the hearts of humanity to save the one that saved them all 

They will become thieves once more and remain true to the Phantom Thieves’ name. 

In palaces they shall roam, until freely, they can walk those velvet halls. 

In this rigged game of a False God, an act of selflessness would forever protect Humanity from ruin 

Giving up his essence, to seal away The God Of Control, The New Treasure of Mementos, he will await 

As a Heart sealed away, to slumber forevermore, so if you are curious and would like a view in. 

Then come, follow along on this tale, deemed Unrigging A Heart Sealed To Chains Of Fate 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking this out! Please if you would leave a comment and a kudos, and perhaps even bookmark this fic- it would be appreciated. This is Midnight and Bea, checking out for now! See you soon~


	2. Heavy is The Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heavy Is The Cost  
> To Slay A God  
> A Life Must Be Lost.

* * *

* * *

Morgana’s blue eyes shimmered with emotions that could not be filtered through by anyone else, only he knew of the truth of how their journey would end now. It was written in the stars the moment Morgana came into existence, once they took down The False God, he would vanish. Yet not only he but...

His gaze locked with Ren’s for just a moment before he spoke to the group, Morgana spilled the truth about his birth, that he was Humanity's hope incarnate, and how it was their duty to take down The False God and save the world from ruin.

Of course, everyone else agreed immediately that this False God had to be brought down at once, so that humanity would be freed from their untimely ruin. He emphasized that no matter what, there was no room for failure and he was met with everyone’s confident and rather witty comebacks to his sentimental speech.

Not that he minded, he even cracked an amused grin, this was just how they operated. Man, what a bunch of societal misfits he’d been tasked with in leading the charge towards a brighter future. 

Once everyone was prepared to leave, Morgana directed the rest of the Phantom Thieves down the hall with a flick of his tail. Telling them to go and wait at the door at the top for him, and that there was one last piece of business he had to wrap up here.

The only one he kept from leaving was Ren, and as soon as the others were out of ear-shot, the feline’s smile faltered and he gazed upon him with woe flitting about in his blue orbs.

“Joker.... Ren....there’s something else I haven’t said. I didn’t tell them the entire truth about what will happen to me... or you at the end of all of this.” His gaze wandered from him towards Igor and Lavenza, they too also had a strange look of what could only be described as pity in their eyes. They were both staring straight at Ren, regarding him with knowledge they had both left unsaid. 

“I...I’m sorry, I truly am so sorry. I only just remembered everything and now... it all must come to an end.” 

Ren flicks his eyes over the Velvet Room occupants. By all accounts and purposes, Morgana’s words should instill him with a sense of conviction; he’s going to end the ruin, he’s going to end the false god. He and his friends will save humanity! Yet the saddened looks make his stomach clench. 

Lavenza fidgets with her large book, gloved fingers running up and down the spine. After a while, she averts her eyes. “My dear Trickster,” she says, voice solemn. “You have done well to fight against ruin, despite having originally fallen into its current. You have saved me and, in a way, my original master. You’ve fostered your power and your bonds. And yet-“ Lavenza chokes on her last word and clenches her teeth. She screws her eyes shut and stomps her dainty foot with a frustrated noise. 

Ren feels the urge to comfort her but he doesn’t know how. He doesn’t know what’s going on. He turns to Morgana. “What is ending, Mona?” He asks quietly.

“Why do you look so sad? Aren’t we ending the ruin?” He goes over and crouches to his level. He pets his head gently, hoping it provides some comfort to whatever it is that is eating away at him. “Mona... Morgana. Tell me.” 

Morgana swallows down a thick and heavy lump of sadness within his throat. His eyes start to glisten with unshed tears, tears he's doing his best to hold back.

He's tremoring slightly, his tail lashing, and his teeth grinding against each other. He looks like the slightest of breezes could knock him flat onto the ground, he stares up at Ren in a solemn but resigned manner, though it's still anguished all the same.

"Once we take down this False God, The Metaverse will vanish, as will I. I was born here in The Metaverse, once Humanity is saved, I can no longer walk with you or our friends...and you... you won't...." 

The thick lump of misery pushed itself back up his throat, and he choked on a whimper. He hid his face against his arm, attempting in vain to wipe away the tears that now fell freely. His ears drooped down as his gaze finds Igor, his eyes pleading silently for his Master to help him with the most difficult of tasks. 

Igor closed his eyes, resting his elbows against his table, holding up his chin by resting it at the top of his folded hands. The old man said nary a word, there was a pause of about five to ten heartbeats before his eyes opened.

Then he spoke firmly, yet with sympathy softening his voice, "Trickster, Savior of humanity to be, there have been countless Wild Cards before you who have come to this very room. Each and every one of them rose up to stand against malevolent forces, all of them before you came to understand what it is that must come to pass in the end." He trailed off, his eyesight coming to rest on Morgana, and he nodded to him in assurance. 

The black feline had finally regained control over his sorrows, and he cleared his throat, "Joker, you as well, you will no longer be able to walk with your friends after this. You have within you the power to save the world from ruin, yet that power comes at a high price. Even I am not certain of the form your true power will take, but it will be your second and final awakening."

Morgana wiped away what he thought was the last of his tears, before continuing his speech, “Once the time is right, after the humans all regain the hope and trust that they lost in us, you must break the chains between you and Arsense. Only then your true rebellious spirit will finally emerge, the power to vanquish the False God will be yours and yours alone. However...” 

“It is as the Hope Of Humanity has said, this power will not come without a price to pay, Trickster.” Igor picked up the explanation once more, he could see the feline begin to waver, his voice cracking at the last word.

“Every Wild Card has an ace held within their hand. This power comes from the very essence of their life, and as such, once you use this power to vanquish the False Deity...” He once again closed his eyes, letting a deep and rumbling sigh escape from his lungs.

“Any soul that has received the power of the Wild Card either dies, when they face their destiny, or they experience a fate worse than death.” Morgana blurted out, finally getting through his own emotional turmoil.

He just couldn’t keep silent anymore, he had to let Ren know what was going to happen. “I’m not sure what fate awaits you, Joker...but know this is the end for us both. One way or another your life essence will fade away once you use the full might of your true self to strike down that False God. Where your life essence ends up I don't know, nor will Lavenza know, and nor does my Master know.” 

“I’ve seen this time and again,” Igor confirmed without hesitation, “all those who awaken to the power of The Wild Card meet an end most tragic, either it be literal death, or to become a seal. A seal with which to keep the evils that are born from the wicked or the lost, at bay."

A short pause was made, to allow the information to sink in, before he spoke once more. "Or perhaps you will fade away entirely from existence. There are endless possibilities, but one thing is for certain, you will pay a hefty price.” 

Ren felt like the floor dropped from beneath him, leaving him weightless and lost. Die, fade away, seal, fate worse than death. What...? Is that what will happen to him? Is that what HAS to happen to him? Is this all that his entire year has led up to?

He’s shocked but in a numb way, he doesn’t feel angry or sad. It’s similar to how he felt when he got arrested. Just... processing. He knows better than to deny it; Morgana is not the type to joke and Igor had spoken about it dispassionately. “Was this... always intended?” Ren heard himself say, voice soft and almost wispy. 

“The contract you had made was abnormal, a pawn to the false god,” Lavenza replies. “Yet the power is the same. There was a chance you could’ve walked free. Alas.” 

“Is this... necessary?” Ren tried not to sound like he was bargaining. He wasn’t. But he had to know.

“The threat of ruin is high. To match the power of a god is no easy feat.”

Ren closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. So there was his answer. “And you too, Morgana,” Ren says, feeling the need to shift his attention elsewhere for a moment, lest he gets overwhelmed. Knowing that the feline would vanish as well upon their triumph over the False God was almost too much to bear for him. “You too...?” His dear friend who guided him through thick and thin, one of his first friends. Ren pulls him over into a hug. “You too?” 

Morgana broke down into shaky and breathy sobs, as he tried to wrap his arms around him, yet failed to do so entirely because of the shortness of his cat limbs. He sniffled as he rubbed his face against Ren’s thief attire, trying to chase back his tears. Before he glanced up at Ren, knowing that nothing could be done to change their fate. 

“I’m sorry…there’s nothing we can do. Once the False God falls, we will face our fates. Once you awakened to your Persona Arsene, back in Kamoshida’s castle, your fate was sealed. You received the power of the Wild Card. It wasn’t as if you couldn’t have avoided it, if you had done one thing differently then maybe you would have lived a normal life. It would have been a slim chance, so marginally slim, but it could have happened. Yet your choices just led you down this path of fate. Once you woke to being the Wild Card, your destiny to take down Yaldabaoth was written.” 

He didn’t want to vanish either, but if he could do anything all to change the fate of his friend, he would. He’d even vanish over and over again just to save Ren from his own ruin. But still... 

"Ren I.... I don't wanna go! I don't want to disappear! I want to wake up tomorrow for Christmas and go down to get Breakfast from Sojiro! I want to get head pets from Lady Ann! I want to be with you all forever.... and- and-! I.... I---I don't want you to disappear either I---!" 

“I deeply apologize,” Igor places his hands back down onto his desk, “There is nothing I can do for either of you. I may be a part of something much bigger than most mortals can ever come to comprehend, but it does not mean my powers are unlimited. Nothing within my power that I can do will keep you from the fates that have befallen you.”

One got used to such events occurring if exposed to them often enough, and that truth was the same for Igor. Knowing that those who held the Wild Card would meet death or a fate worse than it, he slowly became accustomed to watching them either die, become a seal, or fade from existing. There were probably other ways that the Wild Cards under his supervision ended up, but as to what fates they met? 

He had no knowledge of. 

Ren cradled his sobbing teammate, feeling how terrified he was. He felt the wet patch forming on his shoulder under his thief’s coat. He listened to his heartbroken wails for all the things he would soon not be able to do anymore.

Ren really felt for him; Ren will never get to live until his adult life, but he still had time on this world both good and bad, had years. Morgana had only lived with him for the year with no prior memories. Morgana was really going to miss out on _so much a_ nd Ren wished he could give it to him. Ren briefly wondered what Morgana meant in avoiding his fate. 

How could he have...? Kamoshida’s palace. 

If he had avoided saying the key words, he would not have discovered the Metaverse. Or if he had discovered the Metaverse but he had run like Ryuji had said to, he would have never awoken Arsene. If he had just left everyone be, maybe he would not be involved in this game.

But no, Ren would not take it all back not anything. He would be friendless in a school that hates him, with an abusive gym teacher and Ryuji’s death on his conscience. All his other teammates would still be suffering and apart, stuck in an unjust society. The psychotic breakdowns would still be going on. He’d never have met Morgana. 

“I’m sorry.” Ren pulls Morgana back and wipes away his tears. “I wish I could give all that for you.” He pets Morgana’s head, scratching behind his ear. “But the world needs you. Needs _us_. We have to do this to save our friends.” Ren thinks it’s setting in now, the weight of the consequences. It’s the thought of his friends that do it.

He’s **never** going to see them again. He’s never going to be able to talk to them, laugh, joke around. He won’t see Ann’s modelling career bloom, Yusuke’s future art, Futaba’s growing independence, Haru’s new cafe opening, Makoto walking down her own path of truth, or Ryuji run his first track meet in a year that the blonde finally came around to wanting to attempt again. 

  
  
Ren would never see his attic room again, the town, his odd mismatch of friends outside the thieves, or Sojiro, or his hometown or his family ever again. It’ll all be gone for him. He was trembling as well at this point, trying to hold back all the emotions swirling within him like a raging storm.

“We have to do this. For everyone,” Ren gives his best smile. He’s sure his eyes are full of unshed tears. “But at least we’ll do it together. One last time. We’re the Phantom Thieves of Heart until the end.” 

Morgana blinks tearfully as his sobbing subsides, the gentle petting and the light scathing behind his ear placating the weeping feline. Involuntary purring rumbled through him as the tears began to dry, he stared at his Leader with a newfound sense of joy that he didn’t know he was still capable of.

A strangled but soft laughter coursed through him as he wiped up the last of his tears with his arm. He grinned from ear to ear as he nodded firmly and in acceptance of what was about to happen to the both of them. 

“You’re right, Joker. Heh ironic isn’t it? That the Hope of Humanity incarnate is the one needing comfort from a human, when it should probably be the other way around. It’s not just me who has to leave our friends… you do too.” He trailed off as he stared deeply onto Ren’s guarded eyes, wondering what emotions he’d tapped into. The feline knew all too well that the raven-haired teen didn’t often express his emotions. 

Though Morgana could clearly see the gleaming unshed tears bubbling just underneath the surface of his obsidian eyes. “Hey its okay if you gotta cry too, you don’t have to keep it in. No one here will judge you for it…”

He didn’t have to say anything else, because before he got any more words in edgewise, he felt the single droplet of the first silent tear to fall from Ren’s eyes splatter atop his head, right between his ears. Then came the light trembling of his body, and Morgana pressed up against him, purring lowly to soothe him. 

Recalling a while back that Ren and Futaba had once talked about how the purring of a cat was therapeutic to a human's emotional state of being. This was back when Futaba jokingly dubbed Morgana as her emotional support cat, right after becoming a part of their team. Even if they’d managed to help heal the techno geek’s heart, there was still times she’d lapse into a state of sorrow. 

But that was only natural of her to do so, nothing would ever truly get rid of the scar on her heart left behind by her mother. But that was okay, it had mended enough for Futaba to begin living her life again. And she was one of many who deserved a chance to do so. Just like their other team members, and the people of the world. Everyone. Even if that meant Morgana and Ren must vanish to meet that end. 

“Heh…hehehe… isn’t it ridiculous. I’m not the one that should be needing comfort, I mean I appreciate it really, but you… you’re going to lose everything too.” He stretched his body up so he could nuzzle his head underneath Ren’s chin. 

“I’m sorry Joker, I know it’s hard…it’s going to be the hardest thing for you to do, same for me too. But if it’s for the world and for our friends, well that’s okay right? It’s okay to say goodbye to them, because we know they’ll be safe. They can all live their lives enough for the both of us. I…. I promise that even after I vanish from this form that I’ll always be watching over them and you… you too of course. No matter what happens to your life essence, I promise I’ll find it and be there for you even if you’re not aware of it.” He pulled away and took a few steps back, crossing his arms and holding his head up high, his famous sassy grin plastered back upon his face. 

“Guess this truly is our last heist, huh? Well partner in crime, let’s see this through and go all out on this False God. Let’s show him the true hopes and dreams of the humans he looks down upon! Let’s show him that we’re out of his league! Time to go out in style! Like a true Phantom Thief.” 

Igor couldn’t help himself, a soft and proud smile stretched itself across his face as he watched the Savior and The Hope of Humanity rise up against the unfairness of this situation. He swore that the two of them were both glowing brightly, like two beckons of light. Their rebel spirits burning with the will to overcome their own regrets and fears of their impending fates. “You have done well, the both of you, now go. Go and right the wrongs of this False Deity, save the world from ruin together as one.” He turned towards Lavenza, giving her a curious gaze, as though trying to read her innermost thoughts. 

Lavenza rapidly blinked away her tears, before she walked up to Ren and Morgana, “Thank you for everything, the both of you have saved so many people, including that of myself and my Master. Not only that but you are about to save even more. Thank you from the bottom of my soul for the selflessness of you both. Humanity couldn’t be in better hands.”

She bowed down respectfully to the Savior to be and to Humanity’s Hope. “It’s all up to you now, the time has come for you to face your destinies. Even if you both may vanish, know that you were loved dearly by those closest to you. Know that through your own love for them, that they will soon be in a world with a bright future shining ahead like that of a newly risen sunrise. That they’ll be safe from a ruin most unjust. Though the parting hurts, the rest is in your hands, Ren and Morgana.”

Ren stood back up to his full height and smiled down at the little girl both new yet familiar. He could see them, Caroline and Justine, within her. He wonders if their thoughts and feelings for him still reside within Lavenza. It’s a little strange to see her act so politely to him as opposed to their previous reception.

Maybe it’s because of this that he gently lays a hand her on the head, prompting her to look up in surprise. Ren smiles, tears gone and ready to face his final battle.

"We’ll make you both proud.” Lavenza’s lip trembles as Ren pets her before he turns around with a flourish of his long coat.

“Mona. Let’s go.” 

The Velvet Room attendant watches as the chosen Trickster and Humanity’s Hope walk out the door with a heavy heart, knowing that this may well be the last time she’ll see them again.

When they vanish down the long hall towards the door, she turns to Igor who is still regarding her with a mildly curious expression.

“Master,” she says softly, “maybe it’s because I am still young compared to my sisters, but I feel sad to see him go.” She looks at Ren’s old jail cell, Cell 0. “Is it customary to feel sad for our contracts?” 

Igor nods to her solemnly, as he closes his eyes once more, feeling a slight twinge of his own sentiment flow through him. "I remember now, I have watched him since the very first step of is journey, though I may have been sealed away myself by the False God. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of, it is alright for you to feel the way you do. I too feel sorrow this day.” There was always a sense of loss that formed inside of him whenever a Wild Card user passed on.

The tears once again began to slide down Lavenza’s face, as she clutched her book tightly. Knowing that soon all of this would come to an end, and that Morgana and Ren Amamiya would be no more. 

* * *

* * *

Their teammates were looking up and gaping at the Mementos merged world, as Ren and Morgana emerged from the door. It seemed like they were a little more than worried from how long Morgana and Ren had taken to arrive.

“You were in there quite a while.” Makoto regards them with her perceptive gaze, trying to pick them apart. Something felt different. “What did you need to talk about?”

_Alot of things I don’t think I can tell you._ Ren knows they’ll stop him. He knows they would try to find another way. They had grown to love him just like he has grown to love them and they would do anything to protect him. Which is why he doesn’t tell them anything.

There is no more room for hesitation and the world can’t wait. Their core broken rule of unanimous decision rests heavy on his conscience. He hopes they will understand later.

“Just about the end,” Ren replies, cool and calm like a true leader. He turns and looks up at the sky where his fate awaits him. “Let’s go, everyone.”

**It’s time for the rigged game to end.**

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will not apologize for the next chapter! You have been warned - Midnight And Bea


	3. In The Light Of A New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their destinies fulfilled, Morgana and Ren say their last goodbyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... uh... feels this chapter many feels.

“Do you hear the voices of the masses?!” Yaldabaoth’s voice boomed out over the exhausted Phantom Thieves, as they lie helpless before him, all their energy having been sapped away. “They MOCK you for revolting against a GOD!” The False Deity’s tone was like that of a condescending parent, about to reign down punishment upon their child for disobeying.

“Humans are naught but clumps of desire. Logic dictates that a world filled with them will decline. The sin of rebelling against a God is severe. As punishment, you shall taste pain.... everlasting.” The being emphasized the last word, as if he aimed to wound them with just a word alone.

Morgana’s blue eyes snapped open at those words, and he pushed himself up, to stand against this mockery of a God. “Not letting that happen!” He spoke with conviction, despite his own body feeling like dead weight, seeing as the humans still had little to no faith in them, it was a struggle for him to even move, let alone stand up. Yet still, he turned to face Yaldabaoth in defiance, the feline glared at him, as he sensed that the time for his and Ren’s finale was nearing its peak. Soon their budding destinies would bloom like a divine flower of justice, and blossom out and put an end to this ruin.

“The attendant created from the dregs of human hope, mhn...? It is impossible for a petty existence like you to overrule my precedent.”

Morgana took up an offensive stance, fully ready to face off with this False God, even if he was the only one standing at the moment. “Human hope is a desire too! You better not underestimate it!” He warned, not wavering for one moment as he spoke.

Any and all fears he had about facing his end had long since faded away, all that was left was to bring an end to this False God, and save humanity from ruin, and he was going to see it through. “The Phantom Thieves will yield to no one, no matter who they are!” His tail lashed back and forth like pendulum as he spoke, as if he were a wild cat about to launch himself at the giant Deity. “Even if only one of us remains, we’ll get back up and fight to the very end! And we’ll definitely.... definitely...!” His voice echoed across the sky, as his voice was descending down from The Heaven’s itself.

**“TAKE THE WORLD!”**

* * *

* * *

Down below on the streets, the terrified cries of the citizens bellowed out, it would seem they were in mass hysteria. Yet as soon as Morgana’s voice traversed the air, everything went silent for just a moment, until a voice like a beckon of light broke the seconds of silence.

**“TAKE IT DOWN, PHANTOM THIEVES!”**

It was a voice they knew well. The voice of Mishima, the one who had created the Phantom Thief website that had helped them time and again to find their next targets.

“Come on, why do you think they’ve risked their lives all this time!?” His voice rose in volume, The Phantom Thieves could only assume he was now addressing the people around him. “Damn it you guys! Snap out of it!” His voice cracked mid-sentence, as if pleading for them all to understand.

**“WHEN WILL YOU STOP RUNNING FROM THE TRUTH?!"**

There was a long pause of silence... it was as though the crow of humans below had frozen in time. Like they had all but given up the moment they realized what was happening, however just as all hope seemed truly lost faint cheering began to rise from the crowd.

Then all pandemonium rang out as the cries for The Phantom Thieves to prevail become louder and louder, until that was all The Phantom Thieves could hear.

Among the crowd, the voices of their closest supporters were the loudest of them all. This was it; this was the moment that Ren and Morgana had been waiting for this entire time. Their destinies were upon them, it was now or never.

* * *

* * *

“You hear that?! Those are the voices of the humans you made fun of!” And then Morgana could feel it, perhaps for the first time, a beating within his own chest. As though he were actually a true living creature, and not just Hope given form. The new beating of his chest only spurred him forward, he now knew what it meant to be alive. 

“No one wants you to rule over them! Isn’t that right, Joker?!”

He took a quick glance back, giving him a smile of reassurance, watching as the raven-haired teen pushed himself to his feet. Morgana swore he could see a faint light surrounding him, he concluded that this was perhaps the start of his second awakening. His true rebellious spirit shining forth. 

The cheers from the humans below also brought for the boost of energy that their teammates needed, because Ryuji was the next to rise up to his feet.

He clutched his stomach as an ironic laugh filtered through his lungs and into the air, “Heh, why do they gotta word it like they’re lookin’ down on us?” His body swayed ever so slightly as he regained his balance, and even though his words were of a complaint, a cheeky grin spread itself across his face. 

  
  
“But... they’re cheering for us!” Haru chimed in, the next teammate to rise up and stand strong.

She was followed by Futaba who remarked that it didn’t feel bad. Yusuke and Makoto rose up after that, Yusuke also speaking up in a rather sassy manner that the humans didn’t need to tell them twice. Makoto speaking with conviction that they wouldn’t let themselves be erased.

Finally, Ann was the last of their team to get up, and she spoke of how they were going to go all out, no traces of doubt in her voice.

**“GOD IS THE ONE WHO CREATES THE WORLD!”**

“I’ve made up my mind!” Morgana’s voice never faltered, “I will see my justice through for the sake of protecting what I care about.”

_Even if it means I must vanish, even then---!_

He whirled around to face the rest of his teammates. “The same goes for you guys too! If you’ve decided to take the world from him, don’t compromise your ideals to the very end!”

When Ann spoke about defeating him together, and with the cheers of the crows going wild below, Morgana nodded and turned himself back to the False God. Finally, the time had arrived for its end, and for the end of Morgana himself... as well as their Leader.

“Hey, god, foolish humans are praying down there.” Ryuji stretched out his body, to chase away the ache in his abdomen, he rose his hand and pointed matter-of-factly at Yaldabaoth, his voice dripping with his stubborn resilience. “They’re prayin’ that there ain’t no place for someone like YOU in this world!”

Morgana flickered his gaze towards Ren, his stare caught his attention, and the feline gave him a small nod of the head.

They didn’t need to say anything to one another, the silence between them spoke volumes, they knew that it was time. The true rebellious spirit of The Wild Card was about to be unleashed.

**“Give that evil God his final warning, Joker!”**

The cries of the masses rose up, they surrounded Ren and lifted his spirit. Ren felt like his soul was burning bright as he glared defiantly at the False God. No more, no more lies and dictation from others, not for him or his friends or the people. And it was then that a voice spoke to him.

_'It’s time.'_

His mask burned away and an _achingly familiar_ presence appeared behind him. Arsene, his first and arguably _true_ persona. His laugh reverberated in Ren’s head, sinister yet comforting.

_'I told you I’d always be right by your side, and now the end has come. Now release me once again and let us exact our justice on our enemy.'_

Ren grasped at the black chains, and remembers his fate in the Velvet Room.

_'Break the chains.'_

He raises his hand back as the roar of the crowd grew louder. As he rose his hand, despite it not being the moment of his death, he sees his life flash before his eyes. The friends, his peers, the good and bad.

All the hardships and support and the stories he’s heard along the way. All the losses and the voices calling his name.

_It’s all for this. It’s always been for this. So this... this is for all of you!_

With all his strength, he throws down the chain with firm conviction. The link snaps with a harsh screeching noise, as it shatters in two. His rebellious soul becomes a burning star within himself. He’s almost lightheaded with power as Arsene screams and fades away. Yaldabaoth’s mocking words don’t even reach his ears as he waits, trying to steady himself. Then _he_ descends from the sky. His second awakening, Yaldabaoth’s judgement, his PERSONA. Satanael. He floats down like a fallen angel, yet surrounded by glowing light like fireflies. One drifts past him and from it he hears a voice cheering for him. The wishes of the people have reached them and they crowd around _him_ , not the False God.

They have chosen who to truly align with. With the Phantom Thieves. With the Trickster.

Ren gathers their wish for hope up and feels a new power, power that is burning him away. Once he fulfills their wish, his life will end. Yet still he passes them to his Persona and points them at Yaldabaoth. Satanael follows him as his avatar of judgement. Ren glares at him, feeling the bond between them throb. His hand clutches his gun, and he holds it steady, his finger coming to rest upon the trigger.

“ **Begone**.” He squeezes the trigger and in ending the False God’s life, ends his own as well...

The coming of a bright new future... he knew he'd only see it for the briefest of moments....

But from what he could still see of it....

It was beautiful.

* * *

* * *

“What power… it surpasses mine own… a God born from the wish of the masses. So this… is the true Trickster. Damn that Igor… it seems he wasn’t spouting nonsense…” The False Deity’s form began to dissipate into orbs of light, thousands of orbs floated around in the air, before a brilliant flash of light swallowed Yaldabaoth up and he was no more. The lights danced in the glorious sky of the bright future that awaited them all

Well… almost all of them.

Today was the last sky Morgana and Ren would be able to gaze upon, and what a sight it was to see. The whole world glowed with a new light, and there was a fresh scent of peace upon the breeze, and the air tasted sweet. It reminded Morgana of the sweet cream that Ren would sneak into his saucer after Sojiro gave him one filled to the brim with delicious warm milk.

Man… he sure was going to miss this.

Morgana was going to miss everything about being alive. The beating that was within his chest earlier came to a sluggish stop until he could no longer feel it. Though it was a shame, he wasn’t sorrowful about it, he’d learned the warmth of that beat and he’d never forget it. His heartbeat wasn’t the only one that would stop today, he could already hear it with his keen senses. He could pick that beating heart out of a crowd from anywhere, and it was slowing down.

Ren’s...

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji was the first to cry out in jubilation as he jumped up pumping his fist into the air. “We did it guys! Holy shit we did it! We’ve saved the world!” The blonde couldn’t contain his excitement, it was buzzing about him like a thousand sparking embers.

“We…we did it?” Haru repeated, still processing what was happening. “We…we did it!” A bright grin stretched itself out across her face as she clapped her hands together. “Oh most wonderful news! The world is saved!” Her eyes watered with tears of pure elation. She turned towards the girls and rushed over to them and threw her arms around them in a group hug.

**“Yes yes yes yes yes!”** The girls all gushed out in a babble laughing and crying joyfully.

“My goodness, we’ve actually done it. I am stunned beyond words.” Yusuke stared up into the sky, watching as the last of the lights from Yaldabaoth faded away into thin air. A cool but pleasant breeze flowed through the sky. “What a lovely end to our quest to save the world from ruin."

Ryuji spun towards Ren, who was standing there, gazing off into the distance. He was as still as a statue. Ryuji blinked as his heart skipped a beat, as he noted how off putting this whole situation now felt. "Hey man! We did it! C’mon Ren, we’ve won y’know! Let’s go celebrate with some coffee and curry at Leblanc!”A chill settled over him when Ren didn’t even offer him a passing glance.

“Ren…?”

The Persona behind Ren slowly vanished from sight, and the gun in Ren’s hand slipped out of his fingers, and landed with a dull thud upon the ground. Ryuji took a cautious step forward, and then Ren began to sway precariously on his feet.

**“WHOA HEY, REN!”**

The blonde propelled himself forward, catching his best friend before he plummeted backwards. As soon as Ren was in his arms, Ryuji’s breath was ripped away from his lungs, something wasn’t right. Ren’s body was devoid of any warmth, he could feel the glacial chill of Ren’s body even through his Thief attire. Ryuji’s gaze met Ren’s, and his heart plummeted to his stomach, Ren’s eyes they… they weren’t right.

His eyes were half-lidded and dulling, and the light from those obsidian eyes, that Ryuji knew like the reflection of his own, were flickering in and out like a dying ember. “H-Hey.... hey! Wh-what's wrong?” He was barely able to get his voice to cooperate with him, it was like trying to talk while he was underneath water. Ren’s body was trembling, or perhaps shivering, Ryuji couldn’t tell, yet what he could tell was that Ren’s breathing wasn’t quite right. His breaths were shallow and uneven, it was like he wasn’t getting enough air.

“T-The hell?!” He whispered breathlessly, shaken to the core with shock, not understanding at all what was happening. “Ren! Hey! S-Say somethin’!"

“W-what’s wrong?!” Haru rushed over to them both, hovering over them, looking down at Ren. Her eyes went wide as she saw how pale his face was, the hue matched freshly fallen snow, untainted by any impurities. His eyes were unfocused, and he was trembling like a leaf that was about to be violently ripped off of its branch in the last days of autumn.

“Wh-What ever is the matter?” Yusuke followed after Haru to come to stand next to her, and he too gazed down in shock at the sight of their Leader. His words wouldn’t come to him, his mind blanked like that of an unpainted white canvas.

Ren can’t feel anything, can’t feel how cold he is, can’t feel the warmth of Ryuji’s hands or of the shining sun. He snuggles closer into Ryuji’s chest but there is still nothing. He grieves at the loss greatly. His vision swims, fading in and out at the edges. He can barely see Ryuji’s face. He seems to be saying something but it comes back like he’s hearing it through water. “We did it...” Ren breathes out, heedless of his friends’ worried faces. What could he say to comfort them in regards to his fate? He knows that they will accept nothing. So he just... celebrates quietly. He lifts his heavy arm and almost blindly touches Ryuji’s face. “We did it, Ryuji. We stopped the ruin. We stole the treasure.”

"W-What's the matter with him!?" Futaba managed to choke out has her breath quickened, staring down at Ren, her own face paling at the sight of him. The ginger could feel panic clawing rabidly at her insides like a pack of starved wolves.

Makoto kneels down next to him and takes his wrist in her hands to check his vitals. “His pulse is... failing?!” She snaps, panicked.

Ryuji’s blood froze over with a deep chill as Ren reached up and touched his face. The blonde quickly took Ren's hand in his before it slipped off of his cheek, he held it firmly. When Makoto reported that Ren's pulse was failing, his heart thumped a mile a minute in his chest. "What? What do you mean it's failing!?" He could feel a lump in his throat threatening to choke up his words. He fought through it, "This.... the hell is going on!?" His gaze returned to Ren's, as he looked upon him with uncertainty and terror of what may come next.

“Did he somehow get hurt fighting Yaldabaoth, without our knowledge?” Makoto quickly leaps to her feet and swings around to face Ann. “Ann! Diarahan!”

Ann nods frantically as she stands and readies the spell. She casts it over them all, but to her confused dismay it has no effect on Ren, and not in the 'there was no wound to heal' way. More like the spell went _through_ him. Like there was no one there. “It’s not... working?! It’s not even hitting him! Why?!” Ann’s voice is shrill as she feels tears of fear prick her eyes. She could feel nothing but terror stabbing into her chest, before her mind recalls their feline companion. Perhaps he'd know what was going on with Ren. "Morgana, what is this?!” When no reply comes, Ann’s blood turns to ice. She looks around for their feline friend. “Morgana? Where are you? Answer me!”

Morgana’s name breaks through the fuzz of Ren's mind, he takes a deep breath, the deepest he could take, and tries to hold on. He told Morgana they would do this together. “... gana,” Ren calls out feebly, worried that the feline had already succumbed to his own vanishing. “Morgana. Whe-where are you...?”

"I'm right here." 

Morgana was at Ren’s side the moment he called out for him, a small golden grail floating in the air beside him. The feline reached out and placed his paw on his shoulder in reassurance. It was as though the cat appeared out of nowhere, none of them had even seen him approach. It was like he was a spirit that could flitter in and out of sight. "It's alright, you did it Ren. You took him down." His voice softened as his eyes shimmered with more fresh tears. "It's... it's almost time. It's time to sleep now... you can rest easy."

"Time...? Rest easy?" Haru’s gaze fell to Morgana, slightly shocked to find him suddenly right besides them when he wasn't there before. "W-What are you talking about, Mona-chan?

"Sorry..." Morgana whispered as his gaze swept over his friends. He took a deep breath, "Ren and I can no longer walk besides you. We... we are both going to vanish from this place."

"What!?" Ryuji's gaze snapped up from Ren and to Morgana. "What do you mean...? Morgana! What do you mean?!"

"Soon I will fade from this world... and he..." Morgana trailed off as he forced himself to keep his tears at bay. 

"The Metaverse is fading away and so I will too...and Ren. Ren awoke to a power that could slay a God itself. The power is one that comes at a heavy cost. This power is the Wild Card. Upon activating it and to call upon that much power... its user..."

**"NO! YOU AIN'T SAYING WHAT I THINK YOU'RE SAYING!"** Ryuji’s voice tore up and out of him, heavy with disbelief and seething anger all at once. 

“Heavy is the cost to use such a power… I’m sorry everyone. Ren has given us all he had… soon his life essence shall pass on. To where I cannot say… but his time here… it’s over.” Morgana barely held back the tears now. “So is mine.”

"What...?" Ann felt numb as Morgana spoke about their times here being over. "No... no way... it can't be... this..."

Futaba's gaze rapidly switched from Ren to Morgana, "No... no.... no. Why...? Why...we've won...we won... so why...!?"

At this revelation Haru succumbed to her own emotions, whimpering and hiccuping. She pressed her gloved hands against her mouth, trying to stifle her anguish as she slipped down onto her knees. She could hear Futaba begin to hyperventilate beside her, and then burst out into full blown sobs. She could only imagine what Futaba felt like, it wasn’t too long ago that the ginger had self proclaimed herself as Ren’s younger sister.

Yusuke stared numbly at the ground, feeling as though the air around them was growing heavy and suffocating. He was besides himself in his own shock, he wasn’t crying like the others started too. Yet that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as devastated. He just couldn’t cry… the tears wouldn’t come. All he could do was wrap his arms around himself and listen to the anguish of his teammates around him.

**“NO! HELL NO! WHY- HOW…?!”** Ryuji’s world began to spin rapidly as the devastating information finally set in, as he reluctantly tore his woeful gaze away from Ren, and brought up his head to glare in dismay at Morgana. **“DID YOU KNOW, MORGANA?! DID YOU EFFIN KNOW THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN!?”** He rose his voice at the feline, who remained silent. **“MORGANA!”** The feline still didn’t answer him, and that silence was all he needed to confirm that he did. **"WHY!?! IF YOU KNEW THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING, DAMN IT!?!"**

“You would have tried to stop us. Ren and I both knew that our fates were sealed. There would have been no point in telling you. We’re so sorry we kept this information from you. If we told you then we may have never defeated Yaldabaoth as intended.” Morgana’s tears now fell and his black furry cheeks became matted with the saltiness that the liquid left behind. "Besides there isn't anything you could have done."

“No…” Ryuji’s body began to tremor as he clutched Ren closer to him, as if it would somehow prevent his untimely passing. “No no no! Damn it! No! What the… what the hell! This is so…so effed up!” Silent tears sprung up and flowed down his cheeks as he returned his attention to Ren. “Ren! Don’t! Don’t you d-dare! Don’t you god damn dare! You…you… you can’t! You beat death before you can--!”

“Ryuji… please stop.” Morgana turned to him and placed his other hand on his arm, “Ren can’t escape this… he used the very essence of his life to vanquish Yaldabaoth. He’s burned it all away like a supernova. He’s only barely clinging on… he doesn’t have much time left. All we can do is be here for him until he passes on.”

“N-No…” Ryuji choked on his vocals, as he scrunched his eyes shut. “No… no! No…! Please! No I…. Ren…fu---fu----” He removed his skull mask and lowered his head to rest it against Ren’s ice cold forehead. "Da-damn it! Damn it, man! Ren you can’t! You can’t! You’re my best friend! I can’t…. I…. the hell am I supposed to do without you!? I…I can’t…-“ His voice failed him as he desperately tried to hold back the dam of his turbulent emotions. He grasped onto Ren, as if the tighter he held, the longer he could keep him here and alive.

Not Ren. Not Ren! Please not Ren. 

He couldn't lose him. He can't! Not his best friend, not the one who was there for him no matter what. Not Ren. He could lose anything else in the entire world. But just not Ren. 

"Don't...don't...! Don't you die! Not now! Not when we've won! This ain't.... this ain't how it was supposed to end! Damn it!" Despite his heart wrenching pleas, Ryuji knew that Ren was going to leave him. He was going to die and he couldn't do a damn thing. What kind of a best friend was he, when he couldn't even save Ren's life, when Ren had saved his countless times before?

“Ren is going to... a-and you too?! No! Morgana no!” Ann kneels down and sweeps Morgana up and holds him tightly. “I don’t want either of you to go! Don’t go!” Ann sobs loudly into the top of his head, burying her face between his ears. “Stay with us!” Morgana predictably doesn’t answer, doesn’t have one to give her, and that just makes her cry more. "The both of you! PLEASE!"

Makoto stands there numb and stunned, staring at the blasted golden chalice, the Mementos treasure that was costing her two friends. “There was... no other choice.” Makoto mumbles to herself, trying to let the fact sink in but it doesn’t. It dances around her as a foreign concept that she couldn’t understand. As an adviser, she should accept that this outcome was the only, and the most logical of choices, when Yaldabaoth overwhelmed them all but.. she couldn’t...

A gasp snaps Makoto back to attention. Ann was gazing in horror as Morgana began to be surrounded by blue light, the feline rose up and out of her arms and into the air. She swipes out to grab him but her hands phase through him with a spray of sparkles. With a cold stab of realization, Makoto turned to see Ren as a faint blue light starts to glow and form around him. She crashed down to her knees besides her teammates, wracking her brain for a plan, even just an idea, but nothing comes up.

“Ren, j-just hold on. Not yet. Not yet!” Her voice strained with trepidation, pleading for their Leader to stay with them. There had to be something they could do for the both of them... and yet what that was... she didn't know.

How could she?

Ren can feel it. He’s vanishing away. He glances down at himself and sees his body covered in a faint blue glow. _I guess fate is taking all of me, body, mind and soul._ He looks back up at Ryuji. He had removed his mask and up so close, Ren can see him clearly again. He can see the pain, the tears that fall _through_ him, the beautiful brown eyes that had snapped open to stare at him when Makoto shouted, taking in his face for the last time. Ren can’t think of a better final view. Marred with the sadness that he was, Ryuji would still always be more beautiful than a thousand sunrises.

"Don't... don't cry...please..." Ren whispered his words hardly an octave above what could be considered a whisper.

"I-I-I-" Ryuji can't catch a breath to speak properly, "I-! You can't-! Don't tell me not to-" How dare Ren ask him of that? How could he lie there dying and request that Ryuji not cry over him?

Ren squeezes Ryuji’s hand with as much strength that remained within him. “Ryuji... thank you.” Ren smiles as his best friend blinks at him, confused. “For being my first friend. For talking to me.” Ren returns the lightest bit of pressure against Ryuji’s forehead. “Even with this, I’d do it all again with you. Thank you for being there for me.” Ren sighs contentedly and relaxes into his arms. “Thank you _everyone_ for being there for me....” He feels his time slipping away. He’s so tired now. He closes his eyes, even as he hears all his friends begging him to stay awake.

He feels his body starting the first phase of fading, and his mind drifts away. His last thoughts are of Morgana as he sends a prayer to anyone who was willing to listen.

_Please give Morgana a kind fate. Do whatever you like to me, but be kind to Morgana. He deserves it._

Morgana knew the exact moment in which Ren’s heart gave off its last beat, before it stopped entirely. The feline let his tears fall freely, as he hovered above the others, the golden cup beside him growing ever brighter. Morgana could feel himself drifting farther up into the sky. He could see his friends looking back and forth between Ren’s still form and himself. All he could do was give them some words of parting. Lavenza was right, though the parting hurt, nothing felt greater to him than this moment right here.

As he floated up and up, his body slowly fading while the lights surrounded him, he spoke gentle words to his friends. "Humans have the power to change the world. They just forgot that a bit. Thanks to you guys I was able to complete my duty. I got to be useful for humans I admired so much. Nothing could make me happier…"

The light around him shimmered ever brighter as it began to overtake him, though all he could see was the anguished and pain stricken faces of his friends, his bright smile never wavered.

  
"The whole world is a product of cognition, not just the Metaverse. It can be freely remade, the same goes for you, and everyone else. Soon a new world will come… one where mankind isn’t held captive. The world will shine brightly, as long as you have hope in your hearts.” His tears glistened as they fell and they mingled with the blue lights in the air around him.

“Remember…. There’s no such thing as the ‘real’ world. What each person sees and feels, those are what shape reality. This is what gives the world infinite potential. Even if you feel that only darkness lies ahead… As long as you hold hands together… see it through as one… the world will never end!”

The light surrounded him completely, encasing him in an orb of it, “The world exists within all of you…” His voice faded away as the orb of light that was once the feline rapidly ascended into the sky. The orb shattered open like a firework, and shimmering specks of light scattered everywhere, floating down all around the Phantom Thieves.

Morgana was gone...

Once Morgana faded away… Ren as well started the process of vanishing, the light from him still in the process of encasing him too. “Ren….Ren….Ren!” Ryuji repeated over and over like a broken record, as he felt his best friend’s body still in his arms. “Ren!” He chokes out a miserable sob as Ren’s body slips from his hold, and onto the ground. Ryuji all but collapses atop of Ren, burying his face against his still chest where his heart once beat so warm and captivating.

He sobbed like a lost soul in the woods, all alone and terrified. He couldn’t think of anything else but Ren. All his thoughts were consumed of him, of his smile, his laughter, his voice, his warmth…

"R-Re-Ren....!"

Once Ren’s heart had stopped beating Ryuji swore his did as well, Ren had stolen away his heart with his last breath. He’d stolen it away and he couldn’t ever get it back. Ren took his heart with him… damn him. Damn him! Damn him for leaving him like this. This wasn’t how it should have happened, they were all supposed to be here together. Morgana was supposed to be here... and Ren was supposed to still be with them, with HIM. Ren should still be here by his side, alive and breathing, smiling and celebrating with them. Not fading away like this.

Yet here Ren was- lying lifeless, with Ryuji draped over the top of him, having a full on emotional breakdown, wailing muffled against his chest, as soft glowing blue lights begin to dance around Ren's body. The blonde hadn’t even been able to look away from Ren while Morgana had vanished, he had hardly even heard the feline’s last words. As the blue lights shined from Ren’s body, Ryuji pushed himself up from his chest, watching with tear filled eyes as the form of his best friend slowly morph from something solid, to something he could see through.

He reached down and scooped Ren up into his arms, which was a miracle in of itself, because he didn’t weigh a thing, it was like he should have just passed right through his arms. He was as light as the air itself.

"Do-Don't...Ren... please!"

Ryuji clutched onto his fading form. He could feel it start to slip away from his hold, and he tried to tighten his grip around his best friend, but there wasn't much left of him to hold onto. “Ren! Ren! Wake up! Please! Are you for...for..re-rea--!? **REN! PLEASE! OPEN YOUR EYES, REN! REN**!"

_Please don’t go! I need you…please, Ren! You can’t leave too! You just can’t! YOU CAN'T YOU CAN'T I LO--_

Then Ren was gone… his entire body swallowed up by light, and replaced with an orb. The orb promptly burst and thousands of scattered light particles floated up and away into the sky. The lights filtered between Ryuji's fingers and his breath hitched in his throat. Frantically he scrambled up to his feet, and rushed after the light as it blew away on the breeze. Though he had to come to a stop right before the building’s edge. The blonde couldn’t seem to breathe, as the lights in the air from both Morgana and Ren floated like countless upon countless stars in the night sky.

The lights all came together and then… before them the faded images of Ren and Morgana both appeared. They were so faint that it was like they weren’t even there at all. Ren’s faint image descended down before Ryuji and he reached out to press his forehead made of light against Ryuji’s, cupping his cheeks. The image of his best friend smiled softly at him, as if to bring him solace. The image of Ren lingered there for about a moment before it floated back. The image of Ren hoisted the image of Morgana up and onto his back, and Morgana’s light image smiled widely at his friends. The image of Ren turned, and gave them a parting wave, while the image of Morgana looked back over his shoulder. The faint images of their two friends both flickered out as did the lights around them.

They were truly both gone now...

Ryuji’s knees buckled underneath him, he landed atop his kneecaps, staring at the last place he saw Morgana and Ren. His heart ached as though it had been rend into dust. He could feel nothing but the agony of losing the both of them. Though he’d be lying if he didn’t say losing Ren had hurt the most. Ryuji's arms wrapped around himself, and he squeezed himself tightly, trying to imagine the feeling of Ren still being in his arms, but he couldn't feel it anymore.

He couldn't feel Ren anymore.

He didn’t hold back anything in that moment, he devolved into full blown sobs, and threw his head back, a wail of misery ravaging his lungs.

**“RENREN!”**

Ryuji’s body folded in on itself, as he hunched over, clutching at his chest. Pressing his forehead against the cold floor. Unrestrained sobs coursed through his body, as it tremored violently. Memories of Ren flooded his mind, he could do nothing but watch as they flashed before him like a movie on a theatre screen. From the day they first met, to when they decided to become Phantom Thieves officially, to when they uncovered Akechi’s dastardly plot, to when Ren came home after they’d blindsided the detective with a counter plan of their own.

To Ren’s relieved face upon seeing Ryuji still alive after Shido's Palace had blown up and he'd nearly met a watery grave. Many more memories like that played within his mind, he was so deep into those memories that he didn’t even notice the arms of his friends wrap around him. Trying to hold him steady as he drowned under the weight of his heart being torn asunder and shattering.

Light began to swirl all around them, as the entire group all mourned the loss of two truly remarkable and irreplaceable friends. The light washed over them all, and they were spirited away from the top of the roof and gently delivered to the street in front of Leblanc. Their thief attire slowly melting away from them. Just as Morgana said, the Metaverse was gone.

And so was Morgana himself... as was Ren.

Snow began to fall gently down from the sky all around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really devastating to rp. My friend and I still won't apologize for this chapter though. So if your feels were totally and utterly brought to RUIN please feel free to scream at us all you like in the comment section. Rest in peace Ren~
> 
> \- Midnight and Bea.


	4. A Heart ; A World In Ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone else’s world might be spared of ruin. But Not Ryuji’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pulling out all the feels stops in this chapter too. Poor Lil Ryuji

* * *

* * *

“Ren…”

The tears wouldn’t stop coming, Ryuji couldn’t see anything except for the white snow falling around them. He was frozen in place, as though the chill in the air had turned him into an ice sculpture.

His body was overcome with choked up sobs, his chest heaving with the intensity of each painful strangled one. He was still hunched over, grasping at his chest, it was the only warmth he still had left in his body. Everywhere else of his body was as cold as the air around him, if not colder. 

“Ren… Ren...R-Ren…” He repeated over and over, his entire body numb and devoid of any feeling, other than his heart that was being shattered in a loop. It reassembled after it shattered, poorly mended, jagged pieces grinding against each other, then it fell apart all over again. 

Each time it bled, it bled with an immense torment, this was a pain he’d never experienced before. It was worse than the agony of his father’s beatings, more torturous than Kamoshida breaking his leg, and infinitely harsher than the raging aches he’d suffered through during his Persona awakening.

**It hurt…it hurt…it hurt.**

It hurt like his chest had been set ablaze, it was as warm as an inferno, yet as glacial as water of the Arctic.

He was gone…

Ren was gone. No… no he can’t be. Ren had just been in his arms moment ago, staring up at him, talking to him, smiling gently at him, squeezing his hand. More tears blurred away the last of his vision, and he was left blind and lost.

Lost in the desolate and decaying state of his own heart. Everyone else’s world may have been saved from ruin…

But not Ryuji’s.

Ren was Ryuji’s heart and his world, and he had been too cowardly to admit it, and now that the obsidian eyed teen was no longer of this Earth…

Ryuji’s world had fallen to ruin.

He resumed in calling out for his best friend, it was like if he kept at it, then perhaps Ren would rise up from nothing and answer him.

"Ren…”

Haru fought back her tears, despite the agony of losing Morgana and Ren she knew that the others had known them for far longer than she. She needed to be strong for the rest of the demanding team, and right now, she could tell that everyone was besides them self in grief. 

Yet, she sensed that there was no one on this team could even compare their anguish against Ryuji’s. Sure, everyone else was in sorrowful and pained sobs, yet the harshest and hardest sobs came from the powerhouse of the Phantom Thieves. But looking at him now… he seemed so broken.

She reached out, timidly and gently she placed her hand atop his shoulder. Ryuji didn’t even react to her touch it was like he couldn’t feel anything at all. Her heart ached for him as she wrapped her petite arms around him and held him as tightly as she dared.

As soon as she put even the slightest of pressure upon Ryuji, he collapsed against her, like a mortally wounded warrior that was returning from the most strenuous day of war they’d ever known. Her gaze located her other friends, they too appeared to have taken notice of Ryuji’s horrid distress.

Yusuke was already taking action as he scoots closer to Haru and Ryuji, he placed his hand on Ryuji’s other shoulder. It was so jarring to him at how much he was tremoring, and the artist was beyond the point of simple concern.

He'd never seen Ryuji so shaken to the core before, in fact he can't recall a time that the blonde had ever been this emotionally compromised before.

Of course when Ren allowed himself to be taken in by the police so they could undermine Akechi’s plan, Ryuji had been rather distressed. But it wasn't to this level. That instance couldn't hold a candle to this. It was as though Ryuji was a fragile artistic stained glass window depicting heartbreak in all its piercing rawness. And at any moment he could shatter. 

Ann held Futaba in her arms, feeling the ginger still sobbing her heart out. She looks down at her clothes and notices she’s back in her usual attire.

She could still feel her Persona, Hecate, within her but her powers were all gone. No more masks, no more Metaverse, no more Phantom Thieves. It was all over. Everything was over.

“Everything’s... over.”

Makoto looks up at the snowing sky. In the empty backstreets of Yongen, it was all so peaceful and serene. The rare bustle of people was gentle background noise, so normal and mundane. You’d never know that the world had come so close to ending.

The student president looked around but it seemed the few scant people in the distance didn’t remember anything that had happened. They didn’t remember the bone arches, the shadows, the blood red sky and eerie rain. Those memories seems to be for them and them alone. They were some of the few who remembered, and breaking apart slowly because of it.

A cold flake touches Makoto’s cheek, making her flinch and draw back under the cover of Leblanc. She looked to the others, especially Ryuji who was still crouched and mumbling to himself. She could hear him say Ren’s name over and over and it make the hole in her heart twinge with pain.

She took a deep breath, squared up, and broke the silence. “We should get inside. Before we catch a cold.” Everyone turned to look at her, sans Ryuji, and Makoto nearly faltered under everyone’s sad eyes. “We... should probably tell Boss what... happened.”

“Sojiro...” Futaba hiccuped and sniffled, wiping her face. “What do we even tell him?” Makoto bit her lip and said nothing. Futaba whimpered again and buried her face back into Ann’s chest. Ann gently shushes her and leads her to the door. She stops as she goes to pass Ryuji.

“Ryuji...?” She knows he won’t stand on his own. Ren was Ryuji’s first true friend, closer than the track team and thicker than thieves. He is completely unresponsive to Haru and Yusuke’s gentle support and it broke Ann’s heart. “Makoto, take Futaba for me?” She passes her friend over and comes to crouch in front of the broken track star.

“Ryuji.” He doesn’t respond and, though Ann expected it, it still makes her want to cry all over again. She reaches out and hugs him tight. Ryuji doesn’t respond and that just makes her hug him tighter. “I’m sorry, Ryuji! I'm so sorry!” She feels him shudder with sadness, but he still doesn’t say anything. 

Ann turns to Yusuke and Haru. “Help me to help him up. Let’s get him inside.”

Yusuke obliges without any further provocations the artist nodded as he knelt down, “Sakamoto-kun...” The blonde didn’t even look at him, it was like his whole world had ceased in its rotation.

“Sakamoto-kun.” He reached down and placed his hand back on his shoulder. “Come on now, up you go....” He took Ryuji’s arm and hoisted it over his shoulders, he glanced over at Haru, “Are you ready to go?”   


  
Haru nodded as she took Ryuji’s other arm and placed it over her shoulders. Silent tears still flowing down her face, “Yes.” She whispered lowly, as she, Ann and Yusuke helped Ryuji to his feet. He still wasn’t responding to his friends. 

Ryuji stared dismally at the street below, it was starting to be dusted by the white snow the fell, dark drops disturbing the white substance. The dark dots in the white snow must be his tears, though he didn’t give a damn. He no longer cared about appearing tough in front of everyone else. 

Ren was dead... 

His best friend in the entire world and he was gone. In a matter of minutes, he’d lost him, and he couldn’t ever get him back. Everything was once again taken from him, torn right out of his arms, and he couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it. 

He couldn’t save him. 

He didn’t even notice as they started moving into the warm air of Leblanc, stepping in and out of the freezing cold. He was too numb to feel anything that was going on around him, he couldn’t even feel the brushing of Yusuke and Haru’s clothes against his skin as they helped him inside. Nor did he take any notice of Ann helping them guide him into the café.

The next thing his brain registered was that he was sitting in one of the booths of the café. The first thing he did upon realizing it was sink down, as he rested his arms on the table, and buried his face against his arms. The world around him going dark. He just sat there whispering Ren’s name to himself, as he trembled lightly. 

"Ren..."

His breathy sobs were muffled by the fabric of his jacket sleeves.

Haru took notice that Sojiro wasn’t around, she let her gaze scan the café, “Where’s Sojiro?” She stated in confusion. It took her a few moments to recall that his voice had been one of the many in the crowds cheering them on. Was he still out on the streets? “He stepped out to cheer for us right? If so, why wasn’t the café door lock---?” 

  
  
“Kids is that you?” Sojiro’s voice echoed down the stairwell from the attic, “Just gimme one second, I'll bring down the hot pot for everyone. I mean you took down a literal monster in the sky, thought you’d like to celebrate your victory. I mean ain’t that somethin’ you guys do after a job well done?” 

A rustling noise followed after his voice, then the boards creaked as Sojiro made his way to the steps and descended them. As he got to the bottom step, he paused, letting his eyes go from one person to the other, before he cocked a brow in confusion.

"Whoa... I guess fighting a God musta been exhausting.... say where’s the cat and the kid?” He had taken notice that Ren and Morgana were nowhere to be seen.

The atmosphere around him wasn’t what he’d been expecting, and not to mention that the congregation of kids in his café did not wear the faces of ones who had bested a False God and won.

Everyone, except Ryuji who was still slumped over the table, was regarding him with gazes of woe and pain. He set the hot pot down on the bar counter. 

“Hey...why’re you all so glum for? Where are those two trouble makers at?” His stomach churned, as the teens all averted their gazes towards one another. “Kids?” 

Makoto winces at the question and couldn’t find the correct words to say. It was like the small talk exercise she did with Futaba but... worse. She vaguely wonders whether she needs to make those exercises for herself at this rate. "You... remember everything that happened?” She asked instead, stalling for time.

Sojiro blinked but went with it, as he took out some cups, grabbed the pot and poured coffee into them for everyone, looking only slightly anxious.

"You mean the red sky and weird bones? Yeah, I remember. Was really confused that no one else seemed to.” As he serves the cups, he suddenly perks.

“Oh wait, I think I remember seeing the doctor down the street notice it too, oh and another kid as well, he seemed to be pretty into the whole Phantom Thief appeal.”

Makoto hums, thoughtful. Sojiro, a young boy, and a doctor noticed the Mementos merge? Makoto remembers the doctor from Futaba’s house call.

Were all the people that are close to Ren-?

“Alright, stop beating around the bush.” Sojiro leans against the counter with a stern look. “I’m not an idiot that you’re avoiding where Ren and Morgana went. You kids beat the God, so they should be here. Right? What did the cat run off? Wait... don't tell me-” Sojiro’s eyes widened behind his glasses.

“Did he get caught and taken back to jail? There was a lot of people out tonight and he didn’t go out in his hoodie. Do you need another plan to break him out? I’m happy to let you use this place again if-“

“Ren’s GONE!” Futaba burst out, sprinting over and throwing himself into her guardian’s arms. “Ren’s gone! Ren’s GONE! We won but Ren didn’t make it! He beat him but he had to- h-had to-!” Her tiny hands fist at Sojiro’s jacket and her headphones fell off from the momentum. "HE'S GONE SOJIRO! JUST LI-LIKE MO-MOM!"

Sojiro just stands there, hand limp on her back as her words set in. “... what? G-Gone?” He looks around the group frantically for confirmation. “Is this... true!”

Haru opened her mouth to speak, but her vocals just wouldn’t do as she wished, she shut her mouth tightly and took in a deep shuddering breath.

She didn’t know if she could continue to talk about it, lest she break down again right here in front of everyone. Her gaze landed on Yusuke, her sorrowful eyes shimmering with a silent plea for assistance on breaking the news to Sojiro.

Yusuke felt Haru’s stare upon him and a lump formed in his throat, but it didn’t stop him from sharing Ren and Morgana’s unfortunate fate with the Café owner. “Yes, unfortunately it is the truth, Boss, sir. Both Morgana and Ren passed on in the aftermath of the battle. Both of them vanished into pure light… they are gone from this world.” He’d nearly choked on his last few words but peered through it. Sojiro had a right to know why had happened to Ren, after all the man was his legal guardian at current moment… or well he was.

Sojiro felt a chill shoot down his spine, he blinked rapidly, as his world swayed violently while he held Futaba close to him. God... what was he going to tell Ren's parents?

“Oh…oh I…” He clamped his jaws shut and squeezed his eyes close, falling silent his breathing deep and heavy. His heart clenched up in pain and then skipped several beats, he felt as though he was going to have a heart attack then and there.

“I see…” His voice was low and dismal, as he reached up with one hand and removed his glasses, he held his glasses between his thumb and pointer finger while he scrubbed at his eyes.

  
He placed his glasses back on after brushing away the tears that had begun to seep from his eyes, and he leaned down to wrap his arms around Futaba, to offer her any form of comfort he could.

“I… I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through… all of you. None of you should have ever gone through such a loss as this.”

Once he felt Futaba’s shaking subside some he pulled away and stood back up, he lightly patted her back before he went off to stand behind the bar. 

It looks like coffee wasn't going to cut it. He'd have to make something else for them. He took up the cups and poured the coffee back into its pot. They didn't need the bitterness of a cup of coffee, what they needed was some of the sweetest damn cups of hot chocolate he could provide.

“C’mon all of you take a seat, I’ll make everyone some good food and drink, it may help the lot of you to calm down after what you’ve been through. Then it's best if everyone stays here for the night in the attic. None of you should be alone tonight. Plus the weather is going to become quite dreadful, the trains might become delayed due to heavy snow fall.”

Though he seemed to morph back into his usual stoicism, the man was obviously hurting as well. He just didn’t let it show as much because the kids needed someone to be strong for them right now. It would do no one any good for Sojiro to allow his own inner turmoil to seep through and just add more hurt to the loss of Morgana and Ren.

“Thank you Boss.” Haru bowed politely as she turned away and settled into the booth where Ryuji was, though she sat on the opposite side of him. She frowned deeply, blinking back fresh new tears, as she reached out and gently placed her hand on Ryuji’s shoulder.

"Hey Boss, you think you could get Ryuji food and drink first? He’s… he’s been very bad off since….” She couldn’t say it, she couldn’t being herself to say Ren was dead. “He’s probably feeling the worst out of us all.”

“Of course.” Sojiro replied as he turned to go to his shelves to gather ingredients for curry and hot chocolate. “I’ll also fetch extra mats and pillows for you all from my house, after dinner, so you can sleep comfortably in the attic.” 

Ryuji shuddered at being touched by Haru and flinched away, he didn’t want to be touched. What if the person touching him in comfort decided to up and vanish on him too? The faint feeling of Ren’s gloved hand against his cheek was back. He finally felt Ren again, even if he wasn’t there.

But it was fading away fast and so any other touch was an unwelcome one. He rose up his head to stare down at the table, his eyes as red as cherries and as puffy as fluffed up pillows.

The fact that Haru spoke on his behalf didn’t settle well with him. A bitterness drilled itself into the middle of his heart. She couldn’t possibly understand just how damn much this was tormenting him. 

Haru’s hand came into his field of vision as he realized she was attempting to place her hand on him again in an act of comfort.

“D-Don’t… please just…don’t…” He pushed her hand away, slightly harsher than he’d meant to. He felt his stomach coil in regret as the girl pulled her hand back dejectedly. He bit his lip and then went back to staring at the table top in shame.

“Sorry Ryuji-kun, it was inconsiderate for me to try and touch you without asking.” Haru decided not to take it too personally. Ryuji was the worst off of them all by far. It was only natural he desired space to process and work through his own emotions in peace.

Futaba picks up her headphones but just drapes them comfortably around her neck. “I think I’ll start dragging the mats over actually. I know where they are.” She trots over to the door but stops and looks back.

“Can someone come with me to help? I- uh...” Their youngest member goes timid and toes the floor. “I don’t- I don’t want to be alone.” The group almost visible softens with sympathy. Everyone felt the same. 

“Yusuke can go,” Ann says. “He’s tall so he can reach any high shelves.”

“I wonder if Boss will let us eat upstairs,” Makoto says, more to herself. “We can pull out that table again. I wonder if it’ll help us... feel better though.”

“I say we do it. We’re already planning on sleeping there.” Futaba looks resolute on the idea. “It’ll make us, I dunno, feel closer to him or something. I know it’ll do that for me.” She looks down with a soft vulnerable look.

“Ren comforted me a lot in there whenever I was overwhelmed with anything. I had alot of good moments in that room. It’ll probably make me cry, but I still want to remember those good times.” 

“Let’s invite Boss up with us too for a bit,” Ann adds. “You can’t see it but I feel like he’s... like us. He was up there when we came in.” She pulls her feet up onto the chair she sat on and hugs her knees. “I think he was waiting for him to come home.” Everyone fell into a solemn silence, unable to think of anything else to say. 

Eventually, Futaba couldn’t take it and left, the cafe bell loud in the quiet. But before Yusuke could follow her, Futaba suddenly came back in. She zipped past him and stopped in front of Ryuji.

"Hey, Ryuji?” She drops something in front of him. “I don’t know if this will help but... I found these outside. They were nearly buried in the snow. I think... I think they were his.” It was Ren’s glasses, dirty and wet with melting snow. They looked beaten up and worn, having been through so much during the year.

“At least we have something of his, right?”

Sojiro had listened in on the conversation that took place as he brewed the cups of hot chocolate, he didn’t saying anything in regards to their words. He needed to keep himself a busy bee if he was going to keep his own sorrows at bay, of which had only grown as Morgana and Ren’s fates settled deep down into his consciousness.

After finishing up pouring the hot chocolate he got straight to work on the curry, he didn’t allow himself even a moment’s rest. He heard Futaba exit the store by the sound of the tingling bell, only to reenter a few seconds later.

Did she perhaps forget something? It wasn’t until she mentioned something of sorts being his, which he assumed she meant something belonging to Ren, that he took a gander over his shoulder and saw Futaba addressing Ryuji in regards to a pair of glasses.

“Door to the house should be unlocked, Futaba. If it isn’t, well you know where we keep the spare key.” Was all Sojiro said before turning back to fixing the curry. 

_Something… of his?_

Ryuji blinked away the tears still clinging stubbornly to his eyelashes. Once his vision cleared up enough for him to properly see Ren’s glasses lying before him on the table, he started coming back to attention, seeing and hearing what was going on around him once more.

With a shaking hand he reached out and clasped the pair of glasses in his fingers. He held them up in front of him and stared through the lenses… only for his heart to stutter with dismay, as he realized he’d never again see these glasses framed around Ren’s alluring obsidian eyes. 

He shivered, despite it being delightfully toasty inside the Café, as he croaked out a sullen ‘thanks’ to the tech geek. He noticed that the lens weren’t in the best of shape, dirty and smudged.

With a deep and dejected breathy sigh he reached into his jacket pocket, and took out cloth he normally used to wash away sweat from his skin after a work out. He lightly rubbed at the lenses with it. The cloth hadn’t been taken use of yet, what better use than to clean off his late best frie-...

What better use did it have other than to clean his best friend’s glasses off?

At least doing something would keep him from falling back into a cascade of tears and woe. His eyes burned with the salty sting of the tears he’d already shed. He wasn’t too keen on lapsing back into a breakdown, though that didn’t mean a few stray tears didn’t leak their way out of their ducts, and slip down his reddened cheeks.

Haru’s worry for their woegone blonde teammate only intensified as she watched him clean off the glasses. It was like he was going to polish them all up shiny and new for the return of an owner… an owner whom was never going to return. She casted her concerned orbs to Ann, as she fidgeted idly with her thumbs, letting her sights alternate back and forth from Ann to Ryuji then back to Ann and then Ryuji and so forth. 

Yusuke sauntered over to Futaba and lightly tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention, “Come along, let us go gather the required items for tonight, before the snow starts coming down too badly.” 

The artist seemed to be taking Morgana and Ren’s untimely passings in stride. Yet even still, if one looked deeply into his eyes, they’d certainly come to notice a bitter sorrow shimmering in their depths. “If I recall the trip to Boss' house isn't that far off, which is favorable for us, it means we won’t exposed to the chill for too long."

* * *

* * *

By the time the Yusuke and Futaba were back with the extra futon mattresses and blankets, the curry and hot chocolate were a done deal. Everyone was sipping their drink, aside from Ryuji, not wanting to start eating without the full company.

Ren’s glasses were clean by this point but Ryuji just... kept polishing. He kept running the cloth over the cracked lenses and scratched frame, looking so much like a robot that Haru and Ann became very worried.

“Oh good! You have the stuff!” Ann said, shooting up from her seat. “Let’s head up and start eating the curry while it’s still hot.”

“Boss, I’m sure you already overheard us,” Makoto said, turning to the cafe owner, “but would you like to join us upstairs? We will welcome your company.”

Sojiro hummed before taking off his apron with a shrug. “Why not?” He answered. “It beats going back home to the house now, since Futaba is also going to be staying here.”

Makoto nodded before she helped carry the trays of curry upstairs alongside Haru. Futaba and Sojiro gathered up everyone else's mugs and followed after them, leaving only Ann and Yusuke downstairs with Ryuji.

Ann cautiously approaches Ryuji, who continued to polish, unresponsive to the activity around him. "We’re going upstairs, Ryuji. To-To Ren’s room.” Ann reaches out to touch his arm but hesitates, wavering back and forth. “L-Let’s go. We want you there too. Please?”

Sorrow heavy, and strung up by chains weighed down upon Ryuji, he didn’t even realize everyone else besides Ann and Yusuke had gone up the steps. His dulled caramel gaze reluctantly switched from the glasses to Ann and Yusuke.

He stared at them somberly, before his sights transferred back to the glasses. He gently lay the cloth he used to clean them down onto the table, and put the glasses on top of the cloth, folded it over the glasses carefully and then slipped them into the pocket of his winter jacket. Ryuji gave them a curt nod, and got to his feet, after much struggle to make himself move, it was like he was constructed of concrete. He felt so heavy and so exhausted...

He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, his right hand pressing gently down against the form of Ren’s glasses. With raw sorrow and guilt for being unable to do anything to help his best friend coursing through him.

The blonde dragged himself towards the stairs, his feet sliding sluggishly against the boards as he passed Ann and Yusuke. He stared down at the floor, he looked like a wilted yellow rose with how disheveled his hair had become, and his face was like the tip of the rose, except it was still red. Like someone had dyed the rose from passionate red to a dulled yellow, but didn’t follow through on it and left it like that. He cumbersomely pulled himself up the steps, using the railing for support.

He could hear Ann and Yusuke following along behind him. Ryuji’s eyes absorbed the scene once he got to the top of the steps, everyone else had already settled down at the table in the middle of the room. Ryuji walked right by them, ignoring their stares, as he made his way to Ren’s futon. The emotionally distraught teen all but collapsed forward onto the futon, pulled himself up and into it, and settled down on his side.

It was as if he were somewhere very far away from it all.

Everyone stares at Ryuji’s back, sad but not surprised that he claimed the futon and closed them out. Haru had passed Ann Ryuji’s serving of curry and a mug of hot chocolate, topped with cream.

Ann leaves it on the edge of the futon. “Here you go, Ryuji,” she says softly.

No response.

The group ate and made small talk whenever the words willed themselves up. They whisper memories to each other, memories of the group and personal memories of their own.

Sojiro had told everyone he was upstairs because Ren had a rare moment where he had forgotten to take care of his plant, so he fertilized it for him. "He’s kind even to that half dead plant. That kid.”

“He went undercover as my boyfriend for me once,” Makoto says with a smile. “It must’ve been awkward for him but he agreed readily. He did it for a week and was fully committed to the role.”

“Ren really was willing to go the length for a friend, or anyone one in need really,” Ann agrees, looking don at her mug of hot chocolate.

“Back when I was dealing with my own issues, Ren listened to all my worries and my ideas. I was just grasping at anything and everything and Ren probably knew how crazy they all sounded. But he didn’t judge me for my issues and let me try new things.”

"He helped me through my art slump after I accepted the truth about my former Sensei. He never once gave up on me and encouraged me to continue painting, despite what all the critics thought of my work." Yusuke chimed in, recalling those memories with fondness. 

“Ren pat me on the head. Right here on this sofa.” Futaba rocks back and forth on the sofa and rubs at the top of her head. “Only once though. I freaked out after a second... Now he won’t be able to do it anymore.” No longer hungry, she pushes away her half-eaten plate and buries her face into her knees. “I-I told him that I couldn’t be okay without him near, that I wouldn’t know what to do without him. And now it’s... it’s _happening_ and I don’t- I still don’t-!” Sojiro is at her side at once, pulling her into a hug and petting her on the head. “What do I do?! What do we _all_ do?! I only got this far because of him. I’m scared I might go back!”

A throaty sigh expelled itself from Sojiro as everyone spoke about Ren and his selfless nature, that kid truly was something else. 

Never once did he ever live for himself, it was always for others, and now he had proved that he would die for them too if it would secure their lives in a better future. It was no wonder he’d pushed himself into a precarious situation, all to save a stranger he didn’t know, and end up being labelled with a criminal record of violence. Ren’s heart must have been made of gold and his soul was no doubt a pristine sheen of platinum.

  
Sojiro held Futaba tightly, patting her softly, feeling everyone’s sorrows swirling around in the air like a damn storm. The wind outside howled distantly with swift winds and he could see the snow outside the attic window whipping around every which way. 

“Hey kiddo, you listen to your ol’ Sojiro now. I’ll be here for you, Futaba. As well as for all of you every step of the way through this. Just like you all will be here for one another. Ain’t no one gonna be alone in this, alright? We will rely on each other now. From what I can gather Ren musta gone out because he had to, to protect those he loved and cared about, right? Well we just can’t let this beat us down. He wanted us all to live our lives and we should honor his memory by living them to the fullest.”

He’d been through his own fair share of loss, and it never got easier, but he was still here and kicking and still living. He needed to instill this sense of fortitude onto the younger generation, they had to keep moving despite their losses, because death would always be a part of life. “So, with that being said, I think that we should celebrate Ren’s life, instead of brooding over the fact he’s gone. We should also not forget that cat of his, Morgana, heh that cat truly was something beyond my comprehension, yet he is just as important as Ren.”

Haru rubbed at her stinging eyes, as she took in Sojiro’s words. The Café owner was right, they shouldn’t just be sitting here feeling sorry for themselves. Or pulling back into their own sheltered little bubbles. That was no way to live, it would dishonor Ren’s sacrifice, he wouldn’t want this for any of them. 

She gulped down the last of her hot chocolate and then devoured her curry with gusto, her tears finally drying up. “Thank you Boss, sir! You’re right, we shouldn’t be sitting here moping like this, Ren would want us to smile and continue living our lives. We can’t shy away from this, besides The Phantom Thieves I’ve come to know and love wouldn’t back down from a struggle.”

  
The girl took a deep breath and composed herself, “Come on everyone, we don’t have to forget about Ren, we can still feel how we feel, but we can’t let it consume us like this. Ren wouldn’t give up if faced with something like this, so we shouldn’t either.” She’d already had to go through these motions before with the death of her father, and now everyone else was going to go through the motions of losing someone they loved. It was up to Haru to show them the way through their grief.

“No more sitting here and wallowing in our sorrows, okay?” 

“You are wise beyond your years, Okumura-san.” Yusuke had only gotten through half his curry, he thought that he couldn’t stomach any more, yet the speech Haru had given him urged him forward. He managed to finish up the meal, it wouldn’t do to let it go to waste, not after Sojiro had poured his heart and soul into it for them all. 

“P-Please with all due respect, call me Haru-san.” Haru replied with a timid chuckle, as she fiddled with her fluffy curls. “A-Anyways t-thank you.” She flushed a pretty pale pink, before her attention flipped from her friends at the table, to Ryuji, who was still lying on the futon. It would seem that her words fell on deaf ears with him.

She got to her feet and briskly walked over to his side, “Ryuji-kun, come on, it’s time to eat and drink now.” As expected Ryuji didn’t even glance up at her. "Ryuji-kun, come join us at the table and eat and drink with us. You’re not alone in this." She tapped her foot on the floor when silence was all that answered her.

“Haru-san, perhaps you should leave him---” Yusuke didn’t get to finish speaking, because Haru cut him off mid-sentence.

“Ryuji Sakamoto-kun! You sit up this instant!” Haru’s voice was hard with a firm demand, and yet somehow still gentle and emphatic. “You mustn’t be depriving yourself of your basic needs over your grief. Get up and come to the table.” Haru didn’t have to turn around to know that the rest of the group was eying them both in silent astonishment. The demure girl had just channeled her inner Makoto, as they would say. 

To everyone’s bewilderment, Ryuji scrambled up on the futon, looking absolutely as rattled as everyone else at Haru’s sudden whiplash behavior. The blonde promptly pushed himself up and off of the futon, and like a wounded animal he scurried over to the table and settled himself down between Ann and Yusuke, his expression unreadable.

Haru smiled quite pleased with her ability to jump start their most emotionally ravaged teammate. She picked up the tray and mug, returned to her place at the table, pushing the tray and mug in front of Ryuji, as she plopped down across the table from him. 

"Eat and drink.”

Ryuji shuddered under her gaze as he picked up his utensil and plunged it into the curry, he shakily brought it up to his mouth. He then inserted the curry into his mouth and swallowed it down gradually until there was none left on the spoon. 

Tears leaked from his eyes as he sniffled, he rubbed at his eyes with his jacket sleeve. Then he continued to eat in silence, save the occasional sigh and sniffle as he did so.

There was a stunned silence as they watched Ryuji eat. He still looked miserable and wilted, but it was the most lively they seen him tonight.

Futaba eventually claps her hands in awe. “Woo! Way to go, Haru that was great! And eat that curry, Ryuji! Eat it good!” Futaba continues to cheer and encourage Ryuji to eat while Makoto sidles over to Haru’s side.

“Do you think you can teach me how to do that?” Makoto whispers with admiration. “That was very cool, what you did. I want to do it too.” She looks over at everyone who looked almost normal again, but she knew that it wasn’t going to last.

“I’m going to need those skills up the upcoming days, I feel like. For them and... myself.” To combat the grief inside, the feeling that she failed again, the temptation to berate herself and feel that she was useless.

She hoped she would have the strength to overcome it in the face of what will be their biggest adversity.

Soon, Ryuji's bowl was empty and Sojiro piled the plates. “Just your drink left,” he said, “though it might not be hot anymore. I can heat it up again if you like.” He hums as Ryuji makes no room to take it.

“Or you can pass up on it. You’ve got food in your stomach now, which is good enough. I tried to make it to your taste though; chocolatey but not too sweet.”

“Did you do that for everyone as well?” Ann looks down at her empty mug which was once filled with super sweet hot chocolate and topped with a marshmallow as opposed to Ryuji’s with cream. “It tasted so similar to Ren’s which he’d make for us whenever we stopped by. How did you know?”

“Where do you think Ren learnt it?” Sojiro replied with a hint of pride. “I taught him how to make things based on customer personality. I honestly thought he’d space out and forget my advice yet...” He shakes his head with a chuckle before returning his attentions to Ryuji. “You alright to drink?”

“Y-Yeah.” Somehow Ryuji had finally located the will to use his voice again, he reached out for the cup, despite it all it was still warm given by how faint wisps of steam rose off of the liquid's surface. Though it wasn’t like he could even sense that warmth. He was just so cold and numb, his hands clenched at the mug as he pressed harder against the ceramic. He just wanted to feel some semblance of warmth… any type of warmth. The spicy warmth of the curry had exploded within him and then fizzled out far too quickly upon consumption.

He desired beyond anything else to feel the warmth of Ren. Just one last time. He was seeking that warmth and failing to recapture it. Harder and harder his hands squeezed around the mug, as he took up the mug and sipped at the hot chocolate. Not even drinking appeared to be offering him the warmth he desperately craved.

He could feel the angry claws of guilt raking through him, as he swore everyone was staring at him with contempt. It was stupid that he should be fretting over this kind of thing. It was obvious no one else blamed him for what happened, but he blamed himself and always would.

He just didn't understand it, here they were treating him with so much kindness. A kindness he didn’t deserve. Because it was all his fault. It was all his fault that they’d lost Morgana and Ren. How could it not be? When he was the reason for everything being as it was now? His hands curled so tightly around the mug his knuckles popped and turned white in hue. Then he felt the mug shatter before he heard it shatter. 

A new sensation spread itself across Ryuji's hands. It was like a white hot metal blade piercing into his palms and fingers. The mug shattered into pieces within his hands, the hot chocolate spilling every which way. 

Red streaks bubbled to the surface of his palms and fingers. The crimson oozed down and mingled with the sake liquid of the chocolate.

Haru stifled a gasp, she had just been about to turn to Makoto to reply, when Ryuji’s mug shattered into pieces in his hold. She felt her heart skip a beat, was this all her fault for being a tad too rough in her assertiveness?

Sojiro startled into full awareness, “Oh! I… I’ll go get some medical wraps and disinfectant, until then find a way to wrap up those hands of his.” He discarded the empty trays on the desk besides the stairs, and rapidly descended the staircase. So that he may delve into his basic medical kits for anything that could help that blonde kid with his now cut up hands. Perhaps he should come with tweezers as well? There might be shards of mug he’d have to dig out of his hands.

Ryuji stared down at his bloody and chocolate covered hands, a strained noise came from him, it was akin to the sound of an animal in distress. He shuddered and then he spoke up about the guilt that had been swallowing him up this entire evening.

“Why… why ain’t you blamin’ me for what happened…?" He deadpanned, as his eyesight remained on his bleeding hands.

Yusuke blinked in confusion as to what Ryuji was speaking of.

“S-Sakomoto-kun what… whatever are you speaking of? What blame do you have in all of this? What transpired at the end of our battle with that False God, none of it was in any shape or form your fault.” He got up sharply and began to move and rummage about the room to find anything to wrap Ryuji's hands with until Sojiro returned. 

“Why did you think we’d blame you, Ryuji? Because you couldn’t stop it? Because you didn’t know?” Ann says, her stomach churning at the sight of the blonde's bloodied palms and fingers. She took Ryuji’s hands and did her best to stem the bleeding with some pocket tissues she had.

“Then aren’t the rest of us also to blame then? We were a team. We were supposed to look out for each other. But we had no way of knowing this would happen to Ren.”

“I could’ve asked those strange people in that velvet room more,” Makoto said as she did her best to mop up the mess at the table with a rag she found on Ren’s desk. “They clearly knew more about Personas. If I had asked them about our battle and how it may have turned out, maybe I could’ve foreseen this happening.”

“I was your nav,” Futaba said, fiddling with her headset. “My job was to watch over everybody yet I didn’t pick up on anything wrong, either. Not until he started disappearing, when it was too late.”

“It’s not your fault, Ryuji. Never.” Despite the fear that Ryuji would reject touch, Ann scoops him into a hug anyway. She knows his blood is getting over her clothes, over one of her best jackets, but she doesn’t care. She can’t stand it anymore how it looked like the poor boy was going to fall apart worse than everyone else in the room. “It’s the fault of that stupid God who we beat that made this entire game. It’s his fault for tricking us and endangering the world and making Ren have to use that power. So don’t blame yourself Ryuji. Please...”

"B-But ain’t it… ain't it all my fault?” Ryuji’s voice came out raw and strangled, as he sat there in Ann’s hug. He didn’t fight her, he didn’t have the strength left to struggle out of her hold. 

“You…you don’t get it…” He shook his head rapidly as Ann pulled back to stare at him with pleading eyes. He ignored those silent pleas as he pulled out of the hug when Ann realized that Ryuji just needed to vent it out.

He rose up to his feet, a trembling mess. “I was… wasn’t it me who wanted to continue being a Phantom Thief with you, Morgana and Ren? I… I was the one who said we should, Ann. I’m the one that ke-kept us charging fo-forward. I… I pushed us all to keep going after targets! I-I…” 

He was shaking violently as he wrapped his arms around himself. “I… I basically took Ren by the hand and…and led him to his death. If it wasn’t for me… if I wasn’t so fu-fucking stupid, Ren might still be around! If I never suggested to continue…then… then maybe….”

He swallowed down a large lump of sorrow in his throat. “I should have died so many times… so many damn times, so why!? Why didn’t I die instead? Why did it have to be Ren!? Why did… why did a damn idiot like me get to live, and someone as amazing as him have to die!? It ain’t fair! It ain’t F-FU-FUCKING fair!”

He scrunched his eyes shut tightly, as he felt his heart shattering all over again, for what must be the thousandth time in the past five minutes. 

“Ma-maybe if I had just died in Kamoshida’s Palace, or actually died when Shido’s Palace exploded or even…or…I… GAH! I don’t fu-fu…! Or if I took Ren’s place somehow. If I could have I would have! If I had died then...then Ren might still be around and… and everyone would be fine. It was me who wanted to continue doing this shit! I never even actually asked Ren if he truly wanted to do this.”

  
  
He just wanted to vanish, vanish like Ren had, if he could do that then maybe just maybe he’d find out what happened to him. 

Maybe he could find him again...and be with him...

He just wanted him. He wanted Ren here next to him, laughing and smiling, breathing and living.

**“I SHOULD HAVE DIED.”**

The blonde teen had lost his word filter, and now he couldn’t stop himself from running his mouth, he was saying far too much but he just couldn’t put the fucking lid back on it. It was as if a tea kettle had boiled over, steaming and screaming out its frustrations as it tried to blow off its lid completely. “If I had died… then maybe things would be different… maybe Ren coulda lived a normal life and he’d never have met me. He never would have walked down this path if I hadn’t been so hell bent on taking down Kamoshida----!"

His words faltered for just a moment as he struggled to keep himself coherent. He forced his way through his anguish to let all his guilt come to light. "Damn it…!!! All I know is that all of this is my fucking fault. It has to be, right!? I was the starting piece of this rigged fucking game! Morgana and Ren are both gone, cause of me…!”

“You’re wrong!” Haru rushed over and wrapped him into a tight hug. “It wasn’t your fault! You were being manipulated into this rigged game by Yaldabaoth, same with all of us. It’s all his fault for starting the game up, and no one would be fine if you died! We’d be devastated! So please stop blaming yourself and stop saying you should have died. Please!” Tears sprung back up into Haru’s eyes, she felt Ryuji sink down to his knees and she slipped down to the floor with him. The devastated former track runner buried his face into her shoulder and sobbed harshly into it.

Yusuke had located a pack of a spare medical bandages and hurried back over to kneel down besides Haru and Ryuji. The two of them worked together on wrapping his hands as best they could. 

Ryuji just let them do so without struggling, all his energy was sapped. All he was able to do was lean against them and just grieve. Grieve at the loss of his best friend, someone who could have possibly been even more to him, if only he hadn't chickened out before Shido’s damn Palace. He had intended to tell Ren that he wanted to meet up some place after taking down Shido, once they defeated that damn bastard, Ryuji would have spilled everything. 

Yet he didn’t do it when he had the chance and now he never would have the chance. Because Ren was dead.

He was dead... and it was all his fault. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this chapter! Please feel free to comment, kudos and book mark if your heart died inside. It would be most appreciated to hear back from all the readers tuning in. - Midnight and Bea


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